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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
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Issue of 2021‒08‒16
24 papers chosen by |
| By: | Tarna Silue (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | E-money and financial inclusion are both development challenges for developing countries, the former contributing to improving tax mobilization and the latter to achieving particular sustainable development objectives. However, one of the central financial inclusion and e-money services providers is mobile network operators using mobile money. The latter is subject to numerous taxes that can affect their operations. The paper studies the incidence of the new mobile money excise duty in the mobile networks sector on the adoption of electronic money and the advancement of financial inclusion through digital services in sub-Saharan countries. It appears that the introduction of the tax leads to an increase in user fees, which has a positive impact on demand for cash, and it is only in the presence of the latter that MM reduces the demand for cash for studied countries. In addition, the study assumes that tax administrations in these countries would raise more revenue without this excise because the tax is not conducive to the full adoption of e-money. |
| Keywords: | Financial inclusion,Mobile money,Tax incidence |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03281898&r= |
| By: | Tarna Silue (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on the relationship between economic growth and financial inclusion in developing countries. One of the main innovations of the analysis is to report on the contribution to developing new digital financial services such as mobile money. To do this, I first realize a simple endogenous growth model in which the role of the financial sector is to provide sources of investment to included population. The model indicates that consumption could be the main channel through financial inclusion, contributing to growth. Then, the empirical estimation realized using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) with 57 countries over 2007-2017 evaluates the impacts of traditional and digital inclusion on growth. The results confirm the positive effect of financial inclusion on growth. For formal inclusion, estimators reveal that the financial system deposits contribute to growth in developing countries. Concerning digital inclusion, we note that an active mobile money account has a higher positive impact on growth than standard inclusion. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous growth,Financial inclusion,Mobile money,GMM System |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03281843&r= |
| By: | Serzo, Aiken Larisa O. |
| Abstract: | The rise of digital platforms necessarily entails the processing of personal data between platforms and their users. More than enabling the delivery of services by the platforms, data shared by users has increasingly become valuable as various businesses are able to leverage their access to data in order to create and upsell other services. <p>However, the ability of platforms to engage in cross-border transactions or operations are affected by the stringent requirements of data protection laws, coupled with the divergent regulations among jurisdictions. <p>With the Philippines as an example, this paper points out the salient points in existing data protection regulations and the impact of these principles on both platforms and data subjects. <p> Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from date of posting. Email publications@mail.pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | regulatory reform, data privacy, digital platforms, data sharing |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2020-47&r= |
| By: | Jens Klose (THM Business School Giessen) |
| Abstract: | This article investigates similarities and differences between gold and four cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin). To do so, we estimate a system-GARCH-in-mean with respect to four determinants for the period starting 7/18/2014 at earliest until 7/12/2021. We find that, first, liquidity premia are less important. Second, volatility premia exist in either gold and cryptocurrencies. Third, the response of cryptocurrencies to exchange rate changes is more pronounced than for gold at least if developing countries are included. Fourth, gold exhibits a safe haven status, while cryptocurrencies do not. So those cannot be seen as a store of value but rather as speculative assets. |
| Keywords: | Cryptocurrencies, Gold, System-GARCH-in-mean |
| JEL: | E42 G15 C58 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:202128&r= |
| By: | Sajid, Zoya; Iftikhar, Naba; Ghouri, Ushna; Siddiqui, Humbal; Uddin, Kaleem |
| Abstract: | Mobile banking is a convenient solution to access the financial services from anywhere around. Corporates, entrepreneurs and business person can easily use mobile apps to directly receive money from customers to phone numbers to process payments and save time. Mobile technology allows banks to reduce operating costs while maintaining customer satisfaction – but how real and true is this in Pakistan? The purpose of this study is to figure out what are the primary drivers of mobile banking adoption in Pakistan and how they affect customer satisfaction... Banking as a developing technology is being adopted by the surrounding banking departments. The research includes a survey and analysis based on a total of 250 replies, the majority of which were from Karachi, Pakistan. PLS-SEM was utilized in the study to test the research model and hypothesis. The data reveal that service quality, structural assurance, system quality, information quality, task characteristics, and task characteristics all have a favorable impact on consumer satisfaction, whereas, trust fully mediates the relationship. So because data was acquired from a small number of people, the study may be biased because the results are self-reported and respondents may have answered incorrectly, making the findings less credible. |
| Keywords: | Mobile Phone, Online Banking services, Customer Satisfaction, Internet banking, e-banking in Pakistan. |
| JEL: | M1 M3 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:108938&r= |
| By: | Harald Hau (University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)); Yi Huang (Graduate Institute of International and CEPR); Hongzhe Shan (Swiss Finance Institute, Swiss Finance Institute, Students); Zixia Sheng (New Hope Financial Services) |
| Abstract: | Based on automated credit lines to more than two million vendors trading on Alibaba’s online retail platform, we show how the take-up of FinTech credit varies with the entrepreneur’s bank distance. Proximity to the branches of the five largest stateowned banks correlates positively with the take-up of FinTech credit and suggests more severe credit frictions for Chinese e-commerce vendors close to such banks. We use a discontinuity in the credit decision algorithm to document that a firm’s credit approval and credit use boost a vendor’s sales and transaction growth. Entrepreneurial growth after access to FinTech credit is largest for younger e-commerce firms and in the month of first-time credit approval. |
| Keywords: | FinTech, credit constraints, micro credit, entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | G20 G21 O43 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2147&r= |
| By: | Upasana Ghosh |
| Abstract: | With the advancement of technology, data protection and data privacy have become a major concern. People are mostly occupied by the internet, computer and mobile phones nowadays. From buying medicines, cosmetics, grocery items, food, clothes etc, or finding a groom or bride, or managing finances, people are dependent on online apps or websites, which often lead to breach of private data if not used cautiously. Data protection is now under threat by the interference of strangers. Thus, in this study, an attempt has been made to explore the viewpoint of the netizens on online financial transactions and whether the existing cyber laws in India are giving sufficient protection to the right of privacy and confidentiality of the netizens. Key Words: : technology, internet, cyber security, financial frauds, law, netizens |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2021-38-09&r= |
| By: | Anna D'Annunzio; Antonio Russo |
| Abstract: | A large share of the ads displayed by digital publishers (e.g., newspapers and blogs) are sold via intermediaries (e.g., Google), that have large market power and reportedly allocate the ads in an opaque way. We study the incentives of an intermediary to disclose consumer information to advertisers when auctioning ad impressions. We show that disclosing information that enables advertisers to optimize the allocation of ads on multi-homing consumers is profitable to the intermediary only if advertising markets are sufficiently thick. In turn, we study how disclosure affects the incentives of publishers to outsource the sale of their ads to an intermediary, and relate these incentives to the extent of consumer multi-homing, the competitiveness of advertising markets and the ability of platforms to profile consumers. We show that, even when most consumers multi-home, the publishers may be worse off by outsourcing to the intermediary, in particular if they operate in thin advertising markets. Finally, we study how the intermediary responds to policies designed to enhance transparency or consumer privacy, and the implications of these policies for the online advertising market. |
| Keywords: | online advertising, intermediary, multi-homing, privacy, transparency |
| JEL: | D43 D62 L82 M37 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9199&r= |
| By: | Marta Ballatore (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) - COMUE UCA - COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015 - 2019)); Lise Arena (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) - COMUE UCA - COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015 - 2019)); Amel Attour (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) - COMUE UCA - COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015 - 2019)) |
| Abstract: | This research focuses on the role of blockchain technology as a vector of inter-organizational trust in a reconfiguring ecosystem phase. Using qualitative analysis of data mainly from semistructured interviews, this study focuses primarily on the deployment of this emerging technology within a connected automotive ecosystem. Based on the notion of "trust-mediator technology", we show how blockchain technology is perceived as an institutional technology offering a new form of governance for all transactions and exchanges between the ecosystem actors. Although the functionalities offer automation to reduce the use of trusted third parties, preliminary results still show a strong commitment to current governance systems, such as regulatory and contractual frameworks. Ecosystem actors consider that complementarity between traditional institutional structures and decentralised blockchain is paramount for the success of any cooperation and collaboration on data on a connected vehicle. |
| Keywords: | Blockchain,trust,institutional technology,connected vehicle,ecosystem renewal |
| Date: | 2021–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03289866&r= |
| By: | Assenmacher, Katrin; Berentsen, Aleksander; Brand, Claus; Lamersdorf, Nora |
| Abstract: | We study the macroeconomic effects of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a dynamic general equilibrium model. Timing and information frictions create a need for inside (bank deposits) and outside money (CBDC) to finance production. To steer the quantity of CBDC, the central bank can set the lending and deposit rates for CBDC as well as collateral and quantity requirements. Less restrictive provision of CBDC reduces bank deposits. A positive interest spread on CBDC or stricter collateral or quantity constraints reduce welfare but can contain bank disintermediation, especially if the elasticity of substitution between bank deposits and CBDC is small. JEL Classification: E58, E41, E42, E51, E52 |
| Keywords: | central bank digital currency, monetary policy, search and matching |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20212578&r= |
| By: | Jaime D. Acevedo-Viloria; Luisa Roa; Soji Adeshina; Cesar Charalla Olazo; Andr\'es Rodr\'iguez-Rey; Jose Alberto Ramos; Alejandro Correa-Bahnsen |
| Abstract: | Large digital platforms create environments where different types of user interactions are captured, these relationships offer a novel source of information for fraud detection problems. In this paper we propose a framework of relational graph convolutional networks methods for fraudulent behaviour prevention in the financial services of a Super-App. To this end, we apply the framework on different heterogeneous graphs of users, devices, and credit cards; and finally use an interpretability algorithm for graph neural networks to determine the most important relations to the classification task of the users. Our results show that there is an added value when considering models that take advantage of the alternative data of the Super-App and the interactions found in their high connectivity, further proofing how they can leverage that into better decisions and fraud detection strategies. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2107.13673&r= |
| By: | Wagner, Amina |
| Abstract: | Self-disclosure is ubiquitous in today’s digitized world as Internet users are constantly sharing their personal information with other users and providers online, for example when communicating via social media or shopping online. Despite offering tremendous benefits (e.g., convenience, personalization, and other social rewards) to users, the act of self-disclosure also raises massive privacy concerns. In this regard, Internet users often feel they have lost control over their privacy because sophisticated technologies are monitoring, processing, and circulating their personal information in real-time. Thus, they are faced with the challenge of making intelligent privacy decisions about when, how, to whom, and to what extent they should divulge personal information. They feel the tension between being able to obtain benefits from online disclosure and wanting to protect their privacy. At the same time, firms rely on massive amounts of data divulged by their users to offer personalized services, perform data analytics, and pursue monetization. Traditionally, privacy research has applied the privacy calculus model when studying self-disclosure decisions online. It assumes that self-disclosure (or, sometimes, usage) is a result of a rational privacy risk–benefit analysis. Even though the privacy calculus is a plausible model that has been validated in many cases, it does not reflect the complex nuances of privacy-related judgments against the background of real-life behavior, which sometimes leads to paradoxical research results. This thesis seeks to understand and disentangle the complex nuances of Internet users’ privacy-related decision making to help firms designing data gathering processes, guide Internet users wishing to make sound privacy decisions given the background of their preferences, and lay the groundwork for future research in this field. Using six empirical studies and two literature reviews, this thesis presents additional factors that influence self-disclosure decisions beyond the well-established privacy risk–benefit analysis. All the studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings. They focus on different contexts and are grouped into three parts accordingly: monetary valuation of privacy, biases in disclosure decisions, and social concerns when self-disclosing on social networking sites. The first part deals with the value Internet users place on their information privacy as a proxy for their perceived privacy risks when confronted with a decision to self-disclose. A structured literature review reveals that users’ monetary valuation of privacy is very context-dependent, which leads to scattered or occasionally even contradictory research results. A subsequent conjoint analysis supplemented by a qualitative pre-study shows that the amount of compensation, the type of data, and the origin of the platform are the major antecedents of Internet users’ willingness to sell their data on data selling platforms. Additionally, an experimental survey study contrasts the value users ascribe to divulging personal information (benefits minus risks) with the value the provider gets from personal information. Building on equity theory, the extent to which providers monetize the data needs to be taken into account apart from a fair data handling process. In other words, firms cannot monetize their collected user data indefinitely without compensating their users, because users might feel exploited and thus reject the service afterwards. The second part delineates the behavioral and cognitive biases overriding the rational tradeoff between benefits and privacy risks that has traditionally been assumed in privacy research. In particular, evaluability bias and overconfidence are identified as moderators of the link between privacy risks and self-disclosure intentions. In single evaluation mode (i.e., no reference information available) and when they are overconfident, Internet users do not take their perceived privacy risks into account when facing a self-disclosure decision. By contrast, in joint evaluation mode of two information systems and when users are realistic about their privacy-related knowledge, the privacy risks that they perceive play a major role. This proof that mental shortcuts interact with privacy-related judgments adds to studies that question the rational assumption of the privacy calculus. Moving beyond privacy risks, the third part examines the social factors influencing disclosure decisions. A structured literature review identifies privacy risks as the predominantly studied impediment to self-disclosure on social networking sites (SNS). However, a subsequent large scale survey study shows that on SNS, privacy risks play no role when users decide whether to self-disclose. It is rather the social aspects, such as the fear of receiving a negative evaluation from others, that inform disclosure decisions. Furthermore, based on a dyadic study among senders and receivers of messages on SNS, it is shown that senders are subject to a perspective-taking bias: They overestimate the hedonic and utilitarian value of their message for others. In this vein, these studies combine insights from social psychology literature with the uniqueness of online data disclosure and show that, beyond the potential misuse of personal information from providers, the risk of misperception in the eyes of other users is crucial when explaining self-disclosure decisions. All in all, this thesis draws from different perspectives – including value measuring approaches, behavioral economics, and social psychology – to explain self-disclosure decisions. Specifically, it shows that the privacy calculus is oversimplified and, ultimately, needs to be extended with other factors like mental shortcuts and social concerns to portray Internet users’ actual privacy decision making. |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:127804&r= |
| By: | Nick James; Max Menzies |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces new methods to study behaviours among the 52 largest cryptocurrencies between 01-01-2019 and 30-06-2021. First, we explore evolutionary correlation behaviours and apply a recently proposed turning point algorithm to identify regimes in market correlation. Next, we inspect the relationship between collective dynamics and the cryptocurrency market size - revealing an inverse relationship between the size of the market and the strength of collective dynamics. We then explore the time-varying consistency of the relationships between cryptocurrencies' size and their returns and volatility. There, we demonstrate that there is greater consistency between size and volatility than size and returns. Finally, we study the spread of volatility behaviours across the market changing with time by examining the structure of Wasserstein distances between probability density functions of rolling volatility. We demonstrate a new phenomenon of increased uniformity in volatility during market crashes, which we term \emph{volatility dispersion}. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2107.13926&r= |
| By: | Häusler, Konstantin; Xia, Hongyu |
| Abstract: | Several cryptocurrency (CC) indices track the dynamics of the rising CC sector, and soon ETFs will be issued on them. We conduct a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the currently existing CC indices. As the CC sector is not yet consolidated, index issuers face the challenge of tracking the dynamics of a fast-growing sector that is under continuous transformation. We propose several criteria and various measures to compare the indices under review. Major differences between the indices lie in their weighting schemes, their coverage of CCs and the number of constituents, the level of transparency, and thus their accuracy in mapping the dynamics of the CC sector. Our analysis reveals that indices that adapt dynamically to this rising sector outperform their competitors. Interestingly, increasing the number of constituents does not automatically lead to a better fit of the CC sector. |
| Keywords: | Cryptocurrency,Index,Market Dynamics,Bitcoin |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:irtgdp:2021014&r= |
| By: | Mann, Laura; Iazzolino, Gianluca |
| Abstract: | While there is growing literature on the role of platforms in concentrating market power, this article centres on their role in ‘performing’ economic theory. As infrastructures that measure, monitor and ultimately compel human behaviour, the authors argue that digital platforms should be understood as ‘performative infrastructures’ that seek to incorporate informal populations by compelling behaviour in line with certain theoretical and commercial models. The article draws on secondary historical literature and primary research with Kenyan and international agritech developers, farmers, and representatives from international organizations, regulators and farmer organizations, to historicize contemporary ‘platformization’ within a longer history of infrastructural performativity in rural Kenya, in order to tease out both continuities and departures from the past. While contemporary technologists evoke similar justifications for top-down control over markets as did their analogue predecessors, they nonetheless seek to vest such power within the private sector and to use it to perform neoclassical theory. The authors argue that this particular orientation is not an intrinsic feature of the technology itself but is rather shaped by a longer history of shifting policy paradigms. |
| Keywords: | ES/P009603/1; Wiley deal |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 J1 |
| Date: | 2021–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:110725&r= |
| By: | Divakaruni, Anantha; Zimmerman, Peter |
| Abstract: | In April 2020, the US government sent economic impact payments (EIPs) directly to households, as part of its measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic. We characterize these stimulus checks as a wealth shock for households and examine their effect on retail trading in Bitcoin. We find a significant increase in Bitcoin buy trades for the modal EIP amount of $1,200. The rise in Bitcoin trading is highest among individuals without families and at exchanges catering to nonprofessional investors. We estimate that the EIP program has a significant but modest effect on the US dollar–Bitcoin trading pair, increasing trade volume by about 3.8 percent. Trades associated with the EIPs result in a slight rise in the price of Bitcoin of 7 basis points. Nonetheless, the increase in trading is small compared to the size of the stimulus check program, representing only 0.02 percent of all EIP dollars. We repeat our analysis for other countries with similar stimulus programs and find an increase in Bitcoin buy trades in these currencies. Our findings highlight how wealth shocks affect retail trading. |
| Date: | 2021–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:khw8a&r= |
| By: | Guerino Ardizzi (Banca d'Italia); Diego Scalise (Banca d'Italia); Gabriele Sene (Banca d'Italia) |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between interchange fees and card transactions in a large panel of countries and assess the impact of the Interchange Fee Regulation, introduced in 2015 in the European Union, on card usage. For our purposes, we take advantage of a newly assembled dataset covering almost 50 countries in the last decade and carry out two econometric exercises. Firstly, we estimate the relationship between card transactions per capita and average interchange fees by means of a panel estimator including both country and year fixed-effects, thus exploiting the broad heterogeneity across countries over time. Our results point toward a negative and significant relationship between the number and the growth rate of card-based transactions per capita and the level of interchange fees. Secondly, we adopt a difference-in-difference approach and compare the change in card payments in EU member countries (the treated group), before and after the implementation of the Interchange Fee Regulation in 2015, with that observed in a group of comparable countries (control group), which did not experience any change in interchange fee setting regulations. We find a strong and significant one-off impact of the Regulation immediately after its introduction and considerable propagation effects in the following years. Overall, we support the view that policy actions aiming at containing, but not eliminating, interchange fees can significantly contribute to the diffusion of electronic payments. |
| Keywords: | Interchange fees, Regulation, card payments |
| JEL: | E42 G2 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_628_21&r= |
| By: | Egami, Hiroyuki; Mano, Yukichi; Matsumoto, Tomoya |
| Abstract: | People in developing economies face substantial income risks and use diverse strategies to mitigate the negative welfare impact. Rural households often send migrants to diversify income sources and depend on remittances to cope with income risks. To examine the risk-coping mechanism of urban migrants and their rural families against the aggregate shock due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyze the seven-round Bangladeshi household panel covering the period before and after the first implementation of COVID-19 lockdown policies. Our event study finds that urban migrants experienced more substantial income loss than their rural families and reduced but not ceased remittances to cope with the aggregate shock jointly. Notably, mobile money services allowed them to continue sending remittances even under the lockdown policies. |
| Keywords: | migrants, remittances, risk coping, aggregate shock, mobile money, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | O12 O15 F23 |
| Date: | 2021–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hiasdp:hias-e-109&r= |
| By: | Fayçal Sawadogo (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne, FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International) |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the price elasticity of mobile voice communication in developed and developing countries using quarterly operator data from 2000 to 2017. Using a dynamic panel model through system-GMM, the study finds that the demand price elasticity is higher for operators in developed countries. Controlling for cross-price elasticity with internet data prices reveals that voice communication is a substitute for internet data usage in developed countries. Another important finding is that, for operators in developing countries, the price elasticity decreases with market development level, whereas it increases for those in developed countries. Demand for mobile voice communication is thus more sensitive to price changes in the less penetrated markets in developing countries and the mature markets in developed countries. Furthermore, over time, price elasticity has decreased across operators in developing countries, highlighting the need for updating regulatory frameworks for the telecommunications sector to reflect the sector's various developments. In addition, when formulating regulatory policies, some important economic factors, such as income level and domestic market characteristics, should be considered to avoid losses in consumer welfare. The high estimated price elasticities suggest that operators do not have an obvious interest in engaging in collusive behavior that would hinder competition. Moreover, since there is no differential effect due to operators' positions or market shares, asymmetric regulation of the dominant operators should be avoided. |
| Keywords: | Econometric demand model,Dynamic panel analysis,Telecommunications services,Comparative analysis |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03293392&r= |
| By: | Emily Breza; Fatima Cody Stanford; Marcella Alsan; Burak Alsan; Abhijit Banerjee; Arun G. Chandrasekhar; Sarah Eichmeyer; Traci Glushko; Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham; Kelly Holland; Emily Hoppe; Mohit Karnani; Sarah Liegl; Tristan Loisel; Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo; Benjamin A. Olken; Carlos Torres; Pierre-Luc Vautrey; Erica Warner; Susan Wootton; Esther Duflo |
| Abstract: | During the COVID-19 epidemic, many health professionals started using mass communication on social media to relay critical information and persuade individuals to adopt preventative health behaviors. Our group of clinicians and nurses developed and recorded short video messages to encourage viewers to stay home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. We then conducted a two-stage clustered randomized controlled trial in 820 counties (covering 13 States) in the United States of a large-scale Facebook ad campaign disseminating these messages. In the first level of randomization, we randomly divided the counties into two groups: high intensity and low intensity. In the second level, we randomly assigned zip codes to either treatment or control such that 75% of zip codes in high intensity counties received the treatment, while 25% of zip codes in low intensity counties received the treatment. In each treated zip code, we sent the ad to as many Facebook subscribers as possible (11,954,109 users received at least one ad at Thanksgiving and 23,302,290 users received at least one ad at Christmas). The first primary outcome was aggregate holiday travel, measured using mobile phone location data, available at the county level: we find that average distance travelled in high-intensity counties changed by -0.993 percentage points (95% CI -1.616, -0.371, p-value 0.002) the three days before each holiday. The second primary outcome was COVID-19 infection at the zip-code level: COVID-19 infections recorded in the two-week period starting five days post-holiday declined by 3.5 percent (adjusted 95% CI [-6.2 percent, -0.7 percent], p-value 0.013) in intervention zip codes compared to control zip codes. |
| JEL: | D83 I12 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29021&r= |
| By: | Golnaz Shahtahmassebi; Lascelles Wright |
| Abstract: | Online trading has attracted millions of people around the world. In March 2021, it was reported there were 18 million accounts from just one broker. Historically, manipulation in financial markets is considered to be fraudulently influencing share, currency pairs or any other indices prices. This article introduces the idea that online trading platform technical issues can be considered as brokers manipulation to control traders profit and loss. More importantly it shows these technical issues are the contributing factors of the 82% risk of retail traders losing money. We identify trading platform technical issues of one of the world's leading online trading providers and calculate retail traders losses caused by these issues. To do this, we independently record each trade details using the REST API response provided by the broker. We show traders log activity files is the only way to assess any suspected profit or loss manipulation by the broker. Therefore, it is essential for any retail trader to have access to their log files. We compare our findings with broker's Trustpilot customer reviews. We illustrate how traders' profit and loss can be negatively affected by broker's platform technical issues such as not being able to close profitable trades, closing trades with delays, disappearance of trades, disappearance of profit from clients statements, profit and loss discrepancies, stop loss not being triggered, stop loss or limit order triggered too early. Although regulatory bodies try to ensure that consumers get a fair deal, these attempts are hugely insufficient in protecting retail traders. Therefore, regulatory bodies such as the FCA should take these technical issues seriously and not rely on brokers' internal investigations, because under any other circumstances, these platform manipulations would be considered as crimes and connivingly misappropriating funds. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2107.14055&r= |
| By: | Eddy Bajolle (CRET-LOG - Centre de Recherche sur le Transport et la Logistique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université); Cécile Godé (CRET-LOG - Centre de Recherche sur le Transport et la Logistique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université) |
| Abstract: | La littérature académique et professionnelle présente la blockchain comme une technologie émergente ayant le potentiel de bouleverser les pratiques dans la supply chain. En effet, son registre de transaction distribué et sécurisé apporte une plus grande transparence sur les activités réalisées tout au long de la chaîne logistique. Cette visibilité accrue peut changer la manière d'aborder les relations inter-organisationnelles dans la supply chain. Dans ce chapitre, la théorie de l'agence est utilisée dans l'objectif de mieux comprendre comment la technologie blockchain influence la relation d'agence entre le donneur d'ordre et ses fournisseurs dans la supply chain. Plus spécifiquement, un ensemble de propositions théoriques est intégré au sein d'un modèle conceptuel permettant de mieux comprendre l'influence de la technologie blockchain (1) sur les dispositifs de surveillance instaurés par le donneur d'ordre et affectés au contrôle du comportement de ses fournisseurs indirects ; (2) sur l'asymétrie d'information du donneur d'ordre vis-à-vis de ses fournisseurs indirects ; (3) sur l'opportunisme des fournisseurs indirects vis-à-vis de leur donneur d'ordre et ; (4) sur les coûts d'agence du donneur d'ordre affectés au contrôle de ses fournisseurs indirects. |
| Keywords: | Blockchain,relations inter-organisationnelles,supply chain,théorie de l’agence |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03226731&r= |
| By: | Yizhou Jin; Shoshana Vasserman |
| Abstract: | New technologies have enabled firms to elicit granular behavioral data from consumers in exchange for lower prices and better experiences. This data can mitigate asymmetric information and moral hazard, but it may also increase firms’ market power if kept proprietary. We study a voluntary monitoring program by a major U.S. auto insurer, in which drivers accept short-term tracking in exchange for potential discounts on future premiums. Using a proprietary dataset matched with competitor price menus, we document that safer drivers self-select into monitoring, and those who opt in become yet 30% safer while monitored. Using an equilibrium model of consumer choice and firm pricing for insurance and monitoring, we find that the monitoring program generates large profit and welfare gains. However, large demand frictions hurt monitoring adoption, forcing the firm to offer large discounts to induce opt-in while preventing the unmonitored pool from unraveling given the competitive environment. A counterfactual policy requiring the firm to make monitoring data public would thus further reduce the firm’s incentive to elicit monitoring data, leading to less monitoring and lower consumer welfare in equilibrium. |
| JEL: | L0 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29096&r= |
| By: | Umar Mohammed (Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to lose its skilled workers through migration in a form of brain drain. In return remittances from these migrant workers to the region have been surging and now constitute a major external source of finance. Do these increasing inflow of remittances contribute to human development? This paper examines the impact of remittances on human development in 30 SSA countries using the system Generalized Method of Moments (sGMM) approach for the period 2004-2018. The empirical results show that remittance inflows impact positively on human development in SSA. Based on the empirical results, it is imperative for SSA countries to have a clear-cut policy framework and strategies on migration to attract, increase and harness the full benefit of remittances. |
| Keywords: | Brain drain, Generalized Method of Moments, Human development, Remittances |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:scmowp:01237&r= |